Changing Fates
by Julie Anna T
Summary: In which Percy finds out he has super powers and saves the world with his mutant friends. Mutant AU.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does.**

**_Edited by the awesome Coqui's Song_  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Changing Fates<strong>

_by Julie Anna T._

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Percy couldn't tell exactly when the first signs of his mutation began to show.

It was most likely he was too young to remember it; more than once his mother had told him about how he used to flood their bathroom almost every day during bath time, but Percy himself had no memory of such occurrences, or of anything from when he was only four or five years old.

His first clear memory, the first unmistakable memory he had of showing any kind of unnatural ability was from when he was just seven years old.

It was his first day in a new school. At the impressive age of seven, Percy Jackson had already been expelled from three different schools, proving since such a young age the great potential he had for getting into trouble. That was his fourth school in less than three years and Percy felt really nervous for he was once more alone and surrounded by strangers. Percy couldn't be considered a shy child, but he didn't enjoy being alone in a place where he didn't know anyone, either.

During lunch break, he grabbed his lunchbox and walked to the gardens, determined to enjoy the unusual sunny day. Bringing along his lunch, Percy found shelter under the shade of one of the many trees along the vast green outside the school building. He ate his sandwich alone in peaceful silence and watched the other kids running and playing together, enjoying the sun and the magnificent warmth it provided.

It was not like Percy was being such a well-behaved kid. Although he was not exactly a rude child, he was no model of good behavior either. But he had already told himself he was going to be good that year. He was going to behave and was going to stay out of all trouble because he didn't want to get kicked out from another school. He knew how upset his mom got every time he was expelled and Percy hated seeing his mom upset. So, if Percy had to spend the entire year eating alone and without a single friend in order to stay out of trouble, that was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.

But of course, it was easier said than done and in the end, his instincts overpowered his decision.

When Percy saw a bunch of kids laughing near the fountain, making fun of a kid at least two years younger than them, he just couldn't control himself. When Percy realized what he was doing, he had already crossed the schoolyard and had stepped between the group of kids and the teary-eyed kid.

The boy's clothes were soaked and he was shivering cold.

"Hey! What do you think you're doin'?" Percy asked, frowning at the other kids. "Stop bothering him."

Part of the kids stopped laughing immediately. A tall blond boy who looked a few years older than the rest and wore some expensive-looking clothes took a couple of steps ahead the group and faced Percy with no hesitation. He had neatly combed sandy-blond hair and his eyes were a cold shade of blue. He looked like one of those cocky kids, all full of himself, and Percy realized in an instant that that boy was probably the leader around there; the expectant look the other kids gave him was proof enough.

"And who you think you are to tell us what to do?" the boy said with his voice full of disdain. "This is none of your business."

"Yes, it is!" Percy insisted, taking a step closer and returning the blond boy's challenging glare, despite their obvious height difference. Percy could hear the small soaked kid sniffing somewhere behind him and this just made Percy even angrier with those other children. "You can't treat people like that. Didn't your parents teach you that?"

The blond boy's pale cheeks turned a dark shade of pink, whilst a few muffled giggles were heard around the yard. The boy sent a sharp glare towards the other kids and the round of giggles died down instantly. The only noise heard was the sound of running water that came from the fountain.

"Shut up!" The boy hissed, giving Percy a forceful push that made him back away. "You don't know who you're talking to. No one talks to me like that."

"I talk the way I want, I don't care who you are."

A sound really like a growl escaped the blond boy's lips, as his face contorted in a mask of pure anger.

"Steve, Dean, Theo," he called, turning to the group behind him. "Let's give this kid our welcome gift."

His words puzzled Percy for a minute. When Percy finally got the real meaning of the boy's words, it was already too late; he was surrounded by four boys, all of them older than Percy.

He tried to fight, but he was easily outnumbered and had no chance resisting. Strong hands grabbed his arms and legs, trapping him in an iron grip and dragging him through the yard, whilst Percy struggled to get away at all cost like some scared puppy. Percy screamed, kicked, but everything was useless and no one tried to help him. The group of boys lifted him from the ground and threw him inside the fountain with no mercy and the sharp cold water stole all the oxygen from Percy's lungs.

Startled, Percy swiftly jolted to his feet and rushed to the border of the fountain; the water reached his mid-thigh. He threw his body out of the freezing cold water as fast as he could and fell sprawled on the grass, not even thinking about any injury he could have suffered with that fall.

"Welcome to our school, loser." The blond boy said, standing right in front of Percy. A mischievous grim adorned his thin lips, but his blue eyes were hard and cold. "You should learn to mind your own business, because I hate being bothered."

On the ground, Percy tried to catch his breath. He was soaked to the bone and the freezing water made his clothes stick uncomfortably to his skin. Droplets of water streamed down from his pitch black hair and dripped onto the grass, where they were almost instantly absorbed by the soil.

And Percy's body trembled with fury and cold.

With fury for what those kids had just done to him and for how unfair that whole situation was.

With cold because his clothes were drenched and the water was ice-cold and not even the sun was able to warm him up in that moment.

Percy wanted to get up and beat that self-righteous jerk more than anything. He longed to make that moron pay for what he had done to him and to that younger kid, who was nowhere to be seen anymore. Percy didn't even know the blond boy's name, but he already knew the boy was a coward. He was nothing but a big stupid coward and even a young kid like Percy could see it and despise it.

But of course, as much as Percy wished to make the boy pay for what he had done, he was also aware that he couldn't just jump on the blond boy like mad. Not when he had three friends with him and Percy was there all by himself. Percy was young, yes, but he wasn't stupid.

The once discreet giggles coming from the group of kids soon became a full choir of laughter. The group began to split away and each kid went to their way when they noticed Percy was powerless.

The blond boy stood there for a while, facing Percy directly with his cold blue eyes, then turned around and went his own way.

Percy's shaking hands balled into fists and the boy punched the wet grass with all strength he got, in an useless attempt of releasing some of the frustration he felt, and the impact of his fist against the hard ground caused way more than a few bruises on Percy's hand. As soon as Percy's fist touched the grass, a blast of freezing-cold water went flying from the fountain and hit the blond boy right in the back, making him go stumbling over his own feet and soaking him completely.

Bright green eyes widened in shock and surprise, as Percy stared from his bare hands to the fountain and then to the dripping wet boy, who was getting up to his feet with the help of his friends.

"I did that." Percy muttered to himself, still taken aback by the shock.

He couldn't explain how he had done that or how he could be sure he was the one who had done it indeed. Percy just knew it; he could just feel the water blast had been his doing, even though he had no practical explanation to that. The yells and muffled laughter were nothing but a background sound, to which Percy was paying no attention at all.

Slowly, Percy stood up still glancing curiously at his own hands, as if that single action was capable of answering the never-ending questions storming inside his brain. As if the explanation to all his questions would just pop up out of sudden and made everything clearer.

"You!" The yell echoed through the schoolyard loud enough to snap Percy out of his reveries. The blond boy was once again on his feet and was making his way fast towards Percy, pushing aside everyone who tried to get into his way and stop him. "You're _**so**_ dead."

"What? Hold on, it's not my fault. I didn't try to do anything!" He tried to reason, taking a few steps back.

That definitely wasn't one of Percy's brightest ideas, though. Soon, he found himself trapped between the fountain and the blond boy, whose face was bright red from anger, and Percy had nowhere to run. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms in front of him, trying to protect himself against the punch he was about to receive without doubt.

The punch never came.

And when Percy peered through narrowed eyes, to see what had happened, he saw the blond boy sprawled on the grass again, in the middle of a huge puddle. Every kid around them had their mouths gaped open and eyes large and full of fear.

"Miss White, the new kid tried to drown Luke!" One of the blond boy's –who Percy now knew was called Luke– friends began shouting, running back towards the school building. "MISS WHITE!"

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><p>The chain of events that followed that first one were a confusing mess in Percy's head.<p>

The children called for their teacher and accused Percy of trying to drown that Luke kid. All the senseless accusations and name-calling. People called him weird and a freak and other names Percy didn't even know the meaning. Everything was too confusing and happened too fast for Percy to keep track of.

Percy remembered being conducted to the principal's office that day and that his mom was called to attend the meeting with the principal as well. He recalled the tired expression on his mother's beautiful face and also the relief, plain and obvious, when the principal informed them Percy was not going to be expelled, but the school was expecting an improvement in the boy's behavior. It was fixed in Percy's mind the maddening silence that lasted their whole ride home and how he didn't even understand half the things that had happened to him.

"Now tell me, what really happened, Percy?" his mom asked that day, when they were finally in the safety of their small apartment.

So Percy told her everything. He told her he had tried to protect a younger kid against Luke and some other kids, but he ended up thrown into the fountain in the schoolyard. He told her how he had made that water blast hit Luke when he punched the grass and how he had done it again when Luke was about to punch Percy in the face. He told his mom he had no idea about how he had done those things, but somehow he just knew he had controlled the water.

His mom listened patiently the whole story and didn't interrupt him a single time. When Percy finished, his mouth was dry and he had even more questions than he had before.

"Do you believe me, Mom?" the boy asked cautiously.

"Yes, I believe you, honey," his mom assured him, stroking his hair fondly.

"Then how can I control the water like that? I didn't try to do that, but I controlled it anyways."

Curiosity was killing him. Percy had so many questions he didn't even know how to begin. While sitting on the couch with his mother, waiting for some answers from her, Percy had very little control over his hyperactive mind. His mother was deep in thought, watching through the window the sun setting at the horizon and painting their small living room in bright shades of yellow and orange.

"Mom?"

The woman finally snapped out of her contemplations. She offered Percy a soothing smile and brought him closer to her.

"You see, there are people in this world who can do things that most of people can't, honey. You, like these people, have an ability that's a bit unusual. A special ability."

"Like Spider-Man?" Percy asked taken aback.

Sally Jackson chuckled, amused.

"Yes, just like Spider-Man."

Percy fell silent for a while, as he gave his mom's words some thought.

"The other kids called me a freak. They said I was a weirdo."

"You're not a freak, Percy," his mom stated flatly and Percy was surprised with the seriousness in her voice. "Your abilities make you special, unique, just like those great artists who painted those masterpieces we see in museums. They had an ability that made them special and so do you. It doesn't matter what those kids say. Don't you ever think they're right when they say those bad things about you, because they're wrong. They're just scared of something they don't understand and don't accept.

"But..."

"No buts, Percy. You're just as normal as any other, honey; you have to believe me in this. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

Hugging her son tightly, Sally kissed his forehead and felt as Percy relaxed into her arms. If she could, she would have kept him there forever, protected from all cruelty in the world and all the hard times she knew he would still face someday, if his abilities evolved any further.

"Mom, do you think I'll be able to climb walls too?"

"Who knows, baby?" Sally laughed at her son's childish naivety. "Who knows?"

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><p><em><strong>AN: Just a prologue, so you guys can tell me what you think. **_

_**Is it worth continuing? **_

_**Thanks for reading, by the way.**_

_**See ya!**_


	2. Some kind of hero complex

****Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does. And I'm not getting money here.****

_****Edited by the awesome Coqui's Song.****_

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><p><strong>Chapter I: Some kind of hero complex<strong>

**_Thirteen years later..._**

"Percy, you're going to be late again!"

"Oh shit!" The answer came as a muffled yelp followed by the sound of someone hitting the floor.

Outside her son's bedroom door, Sally shook her head smiling and made her way back to the kitchen, where she found Paul already fully clothed for work. He was serving a big mug of coffee for himself.

After Percy was born, Sally lived and dedicated the next fourteen of her life exclusively to her son. She had been dumped by Percy's father and left behind to raise a hyperactive child all by herself. In Sally's opinion, that was more than enough reason for her to stay out of romantic relationships for a while. And the fact that Percy began to show signs of mutations since very early age just made the single mother even more careful when meeting other people.

Mutants were feared by most people in their society and although great part was not actually dangerous, they were discriminated by those considered normal. Sally didn't want that for her son. She wanted to give Percy a safe place, where he could have peace when human cruelty became too much to bear, so she chose to be alone.

Until Paul showed up in her life.

Paul Blofis was an English teacher in the school Percy attended during seventh grade. He was Percy's favorite teacher at the time and when Sally found out about it, she was taken by surprise a little. She didn't remember Percy having favorite teachers in any of his previous schools.

During the school year, Sally and Paul ended up becoming good friends, once Sally was always at school attending meetings with the principal, thanks to Percy's behavior issues.

After countless tries from Paul, and with Percy's blessing, they became a couple. One year later, they got married.

When she told Paul about Percy's mutations and his unusual abilities, Sally feared he would react badly to the news. But in the end she realized she shouldn't have feared it so much. Paul accepted Percy's mutations and never treated him any different, nor showed any kind of distress as people used to show whenever they found out they were living with mutants. Paul's acceptance was the last proof Sally needed and when the proposal came, she said yes without even thinking twice.

"Did he fall out of bed again?" Paul asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"What do you think?" Sally laughed. She took the bowl full of pancake batter she had been working on and began to mixing it again with a spoon.

"He fell out of bed again," Paul said with sure and he couldn't help but laugh as well. "You know, one day he's going to hurt himself for real if he keeps falling like that."

"Paul, the day Percy stops being clumsy will be the day we'll know there's something wrong with him. Don't worry, he's like that since he was a kid. Now, please, can you hand me a plate?"

The man took a sip of his coffee, before putting his mug down on the counter and grabbing a plate in the upper cabinets.

"Thank you, honey," Sally said giving her husband a quick kiss. "I would appreciate if you set the table too. That would be great, you know?"

"And what exactly do I get with this?"

"Your breakfast and you should be thankful I'm being so kind to you."

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

And raising his hands in a sign of defeat, Paul did exactly what Sally asked.

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><p>His mother's voice coming from the other side of the door took Percy out of the amazing dream he was having. His eyes snapped open and leaped to his feet in a second.<p>

Well, Percy didn't exactly stand up. He wanted to but the sheets were tangled around his legs, so instead of standing, Percy just fell face first on the floor.

"Oh shit!" He groaned with his face still pressed against the carpet. Percy rolled onto his back and kicked away the sheets around his legs. He rubbed his nose, checking for any apparent damage, but there was no evident blood in his hand. Some good news, at least.

With his mind still clouded by sleep and with his eyes still trying to adjust to all that light that was peering through his bedroom window, Percy glanced over the clock on his bedside table and almost had a heart attack. It was already 7:15 AM.

"Oooh, I'm gonna be late again," he groaned tiredly. Wasting no more time, he got up to his feet and went straight to the bathroom.

Percy took a quick shower and left the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He hated having so short time to shower; usually, that was his favorite time in the day and he loved spending long periods of time under current water, but time was a luxury he didn't possessed at the moment.

He put his clothes on and left his room, leaving the wet towel on his bed. He was so going to hear from his mother later.

When he entered the kitchen, his mother and Paul were already eating and his plate full of blue pancakes was waiting for him on the table.

"Hey there people, good morning," he greeted. He sat beside his mother and attacked his pancakes before anyone could have answered him.

"Good morning, darling," Sally said.

"Percy, slow down. You're gonna choke if you keep eating so fast."

"I can't," he said with his mouth full of pancakes. "I need to be at the station soon, or I'm gonna lose the train. I can't be late for work again."

"Well, better late than choking to death."

Percy shook his head and muttered something neither Sally nor Paul was able to understand. He ate his breakfast in a hurry, only pausing occasionally to breath or drink some juice. In less than five minutes he was finished and disappeared through the kitchen door.

"Wait Percy, do you want me to prepare your lunch?" Sally offered, when she saw her son was already by the front door. He was putting on his jacket and shoes, almost ready to leave.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll grab something at the aquarium, the cafeteria there is not so bad." He declined, throwing the backpack on his shoulders. When he realized his mother was going to protest, he added. "Bye Mom, bye Paul. See you at night."

"Percy!" Sally tried to call him, but her son was already gone.

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><p>Twenty minutes. That was the amount of time Percy had to open his way through the crowd, reach the subway, buy his ticket and get into the train. If he wanted to be at the aquarium in time, of course, which he did. Considering he did this same route in fifteen minutes almost everyday, unless something went terribly wrong, Percy would be at work in time for a change.<p>

Percy had graduated two years ago and since then he had been working full-time at the city's aquarium. He did a little bit of everything around there. He fed the animals, took care of tanks and, sometimes, he even gave tours to young children during school visits. It was a tiring job most of the times, but Percy liked it a lot and the payment was not bad.

Making his way through the streets, Percy reached the stairs to the subway and basically sprinted to the nearest booth to get his ticket. To Percy's despair, an old lady in front of him got stuck with the ticket machine and he lost a few precious minutes helping the woman.

Percy managed to get into the train seconds before the doors closed. He fell on the first empty seat he found and, finally, relaxed. With his backpack secure on his lap, Percy rested comfortably against the seat and watched people around him with interest.

The blonde woman wearing a secretary-like outfit typed furiously in her smartphone. An old lady was talking something with a kid who was most certainly her grandson. The guy wearing worn jeans and muddy boots had only an old guitar with him.

Percy loved watching people and those traits that made them so unique. He loved watching at those different people and had a lot of fun searching for any sign of unusual abilities. The woman with the smartphone, the old lady and her grandson, the guy with the guitar. They seemed so ordinary, but at the same time, they could be hiding secrets that most people would never see if they didn't pay enough attention. Percy himself seemed to be an ordinary guy to anyone who looked at him, but he knew he was far from ordinary.

Ordinary people couldn't control massive bodies of water with only their own will, nor could they breath underwater without the right equipment. Percy, on the other hand, could.

"Hello, is this seat taken, young man?" An old man wearing a bonnet and cane asked on a rough voice, taking Percy out of his daydreams. He was pointing out to the empty seat next to Percy.

"No, not at all. Go ahead, sir."

He moved away a bit, to make room for the man.

"Well, thank you."

Nothing happened during the trip. Percy occasionally talked about random things with the friendly old man, other times he just listened as the man told him amazing stories that took place years and years ago. When the train came to a stop, Percy bid the man goodbye -his name was Joey, Percy had asked him in between stories- and joined the crowds that took over the streets once again.

Percy looked at the clock and saw he still had plenty of time left; He had no more need to run. For the first time that week, Percy was going to make it to work in time. More good news! Despite its abrupt beginning, Percy sure was having an unusual good day.

Maybe he should have suspected all that luck he was having. It was not normal for Percy to have so much luck. Since he was a kid, his life consisted in nothing but one weird situation after another. He should have known all that peace and quietness could never mean something good.

He should have suspected, but he didn't. Come on, people sometimes got lucky didn't they?

Well, ordinary people? Yes.

Percy Jackson? Definitely not.

He was two streets away from the aquarium when he heard the explosion.

The deafening sound came out of nowhere and took everybody by surprise. The woman walking in front of Percy almost jumped out of her skin and spilled the coffee she had been holding. The man reading a newspaper in a café almost fell out of his chair.

Percy searched his surroundings, looking for the source of the noise; his ears still ringing.

"Oh my God! It's the market!" someone in the crowd shouted.

It was indeed the market, Percy soon found out.

A massive amount of black smoke was escaping from the two-story building. People came out coughing and running from inside the market.

In the street, people had started gathering around the place. Some tried to help the ones running from the building, others containing a woman who was trying to get back inside. She was struggling desperately to break free, yelling at everybody and saying her daughter was still inside the building.

Lost in the middle of that confusing mess, Percy forgot completely about a possible delay and followed the crowd. He opened his way through the people, until he had a good enough view of the burning place.

"Someone help, my daughter is inside!" the woman kept yelling. "She's only five."

"We already called 911," one of the men who was holding her assured. "They're on their way."

The fire still hadn't reached the second floor, but the front door was blocked and spilling flames. If the woman's daughter was still inside there, they would have to extinguish the flames first, or no one would be able to go search for the girl.

Percy didn't heard any sign of approaching sirens or lights and as the minutes passed by, the fire grew bigger and bigger.

"Someone help my daughter, for God's sake!"

The woman had stopped fighting and now was drowning herself in tears. It was heartbreaking to watch. Percy wanted to help, but there was no way he could get inside the building. At least not with so much fire in the way. If only they could find enough water...

The idea popped inside his mind out of a sudden. Water, of course! Percy could use his powers to aim a water blast into the fire if he found the amount of water needed to extinguish it.

Maybe it was his destiny to help those people, or maybe he was just having an unusually lucky day. Anyway, the fact was that Percy found a hydrant a few steps away from the burning market and he knew exactly what he had to do then.

As he made his way in between all those people, Percy ignored everyone who tried to stop him. When he got close enough to the hydrant, Percy took the backpack off his shoulders and let it fall on the pavement by his side. His hands grazed the metal object in front of him for a moment, then rested on it.

It was never easy for Percy to use his powers. He didn't have full control over them and he didn't understand them well enough to fully master his abilities. Most times, the things he did were spontaneous and he did them rather by instinct than anything. But at that moment, he had to at least try.

Percy closed his eyes. He could feel the water running inside the pipes and could also feel its force. The metal was could under his touch. He tried to concentrate only on the running water and ignored the sounds around him.

For a few moments, Percy was sure he was looking like an idiot there. It was almost certain that everyone was thinking he had gone mad or something along those lines, but Percy tried not to think about it.

He pictured in his mind the water breaking open the hydrant and flying to the burning building. He imagined the blast of water hitting the fire and extinguishing it. Percy let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding and then suddenly his mind went blank.

And the water broke the hydrant open like a giant can of Coke.

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><p>Percy arrived at the aquarium thirty-eight minutes late. The good thing was he didn't get punished and his boss had believed when he told about the fire. Percy suspected his soaked clothes and his grimy face had helped him convince his boss.<p>

After Percy used his powers to extinguish the fire, Percy and two other men entered the smoky market and searched for the desperate woman's daughter. Fortunately, they found the kid and got her out without much trouble.

The fire brigade arrived short after, which had been great news. You see, even though Percy used his powers well enough to control the fire, he had a lot of trouble trying to make the hydrant stop leaking like some uncontrollable fountain.

And along with the fire brigade, also came the press.

As soon as he saw the innumerous vans from different stations arriving, Percy got his backpack on the pavement and walked away from there as discreetly as he could. But of course, someone in the crowd made him a huge favor and basically screamed to the nearest reporter that Percy was the one who had extinguished the fire.

In a matter of seconds, Percy found himself surrounded reporters.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything to say," he answered in a hurry, moving away every microphone those people almost shoved into his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. I need to go."

He had done what he thought was right; he had helped that woman by using his powers in public -something he rarely did. He didn't want to stay there a single minute more and he certainly didn't want all the attention he was getting. So when he saw an opportunity to get away from there, he took it.

Percy sprinted down the street and ran away from all that madness without looking back a single time.

* * *

><p>"Percy Jackson, why are the press saying you've stopped a fire?"<p>

The guy had to put the cellphone a good distance away from his ear, or he would certainly have gone deaf thanks to his mother yell.

Usually, his mother was not so loud, but when it came to her son's powers, Sally Jackson became the scariest of persons. Percy knew she was just concerned about him; they had faced a lot of problems because of his powers, but he would be lying if he said he liked when his mother scolded at him. He could almost feel the lecture coming.

"Sorry Mom," he said, checking to see if there was anyone around that could listen what he was saying. No one was around, besides the seals that were swimming lazily in their tank. "But I couldn't just watch it. There was a kid inside the building."

He heard his mother sigh on the other side of the line. "I know you meant well, but you can't expose yourself like that. It may get you into serious trouble, Percy."

"I know what you're gonna say, Mom," Percy grumbled, shoving his free hand inside his pocket and resting against the giant tank. "You're gonna tell me I need to be more careful, that there's a lot of people who doesn't accept mutants and that I need to think on my safety first. I know all of this, but there was a kid inside that building and she could have died if I did nothing to help. There's nothing wrong with what I did."

"Darling, I'm not saying what you did was wrong. On the contrary, I'm proud of you and it makes me happy seeing the man you're becoming, despite all the bad things you've been through. But you need to understand I worry about you and I don't want you to get hurt. Today everything went right and you saved that kid in time. But what if something had gone wrong? What if you tried to help her, but your powers got out of control? If the worst happened, even if it wasn't your fault, you know people would probably blame you anyways. Have you forgotten what happened in California?"

"No, I haven't, but you don't need to remind me all the time," Percy hissed in anger. He felt bad for talking to his mother in that tone, so he tried to get a hold on his feelings before saying anything more. "Sorry. I'll be more careful, okay? But I gotta go now, I have to feed the seals."

Silence hung between them and Percy asked himself if his mother had hung up on him or not.

"Okay, I'll let you do your job, then." Sally finally replied. "Just think about what I told you, Percy. I'll see you tonight, darling."

"See you tonight, Mom."

And as Percy shoved his cellphone back in his pocket, he couldn't shake off the feeling he had concerning the fire incident. He didn't know why, but he felt that that incident would still bring him a lot of trouble.

* * *

><p>And it brought trouble indeed.<p>

Thanks to the press, people started to recognize Percy in public. Some of them complimented him for his courage, but others -most of them, actually- were too busy scolding at him, or despising him for being a mutant, to admit he had done something good.

Percy hated those kind of people more than anything else.

Fortunately for him, New York was a big city and news there were forgotten as fast as they were noticed. Two weeks after the fire incident, Percy's heroism didn't seem so important anymore and his life was slowly getting back to normal again. He was more than happy with that.

On Tuesday, he got to work in time and didn't even fall out of bed that morning, what was a big change in his daily routine. When Percy reached the aquarium, he went straight to the lock room and left his stuff there in a hurry. Feeding and taking care of the penguins was his first task of the day and he enjoyed spending time with those little guys a lot. They were quite fun.

Percy got an empty bucket in the storeroom and made his way to the arctic wing of the aquarium. He greeted a few colleagues along the way and a bunch of visitors that were already taking an early tour. He was almost reaching his destination when he heard someone call him.

"Perseus Jackson?"

Percy stopped in the middle of the almost empty corridor.

No one called him Perseus, not even his mother. He turned around. There were two guys coming in his direction.

The guy from the left was an inch or two taller than Percy himself. He had short light blond hair and electric blue eyes. He was also strong and his face could have made any supermodel jealous if it wasn't for the scar he had in his upper lip.

The guy from the right was the opposite of his friend. Skinny, pale and at least five inches shorter, the guy was seventeen at max. His hair was a mess of dark curls that reached his neck and he had dark circles under his almond eyes. He looked like he was could pass out of exhaustion at any moment, in Percy's opinion.

"That'd be me. Do I know you?"

"Not really, but we need to discuss something important with you," the blond began. "I'm Jason Grace and this is Nico di Angelo," he said pointing to the skinny kid beside him. "Could you give us a minute?"

Percy frowned. He looked suspiciously from one guy to the other.

"I'm kinda busy right now. There's a tank full of starved penguins waiting for me," he said. "Maybe another time."

"But this is really important," Jason insisted.

"The penguins are important too."

"More important than your mutation?" Nico di Angelo spoke for the first time, in a rough voice. He smirked when he saw the surprise taking over Percy's features. "Yeah, we're aware about your powers and that's what we wanna talk about. Are you gonna listen or not?"

The surprise was huge, but Percy tried to hide it the best he could. He narrowed his eyes. If he had been suspicious before, now he was ten times more suspicious.

"Why should I?"

"Because we can help you control your powers," Nico said rolling his eyes impatiently. "And because your penguins won't starve to death if you use ten minutes of your time and talk to us before feeding them."

Percy definitely didn't like that guy's tone, but he said nothing. Instead, he pondered his options.

He could tell those two to leave him alone, but if he did that he would never know how they had found out about his mutation and why they seemed so okay with it. No, he didn't trust them, but his curiosity was bigger than his precaution.

"Okay, I'm gonna listen what you have to say," he agreed. "Follow me."

Percy began to make his way to the arctic wing again and Jason and Nico followed him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh well, I must say I was not expecting so much attention here. Thank you so much!**

**Everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed, read. Just thank you.**

**I hope you like this new chapter. I sure had a lot of fun writing it.**

**See ya!**

_**Julie Anna T.**_


	3. Penguins, institutes and pokémons

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does.**

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><p><strong>Chapter II: About starving penguins, weird institutes and pokémons<strong>

Ending up in a huge room covered in ice and at an almost freezing temperature had not been part of Nico's plans for that day. As well as it definitely hadn't been part of his plans being chased down by a flock of starving penguins, whilst his best friend and a guy he had just met watched that humiliating scene.

Unfortunately, things not always went according to Nico's plans and of course he was currently running away from a flock of starving penguins in a place with slippery floor, as the cold inside the room was almost freezing him to death. Not to mention that his best friend and the other guy were watching the whole scene with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Get these things away from me!" Nico growled, annoyed.

"Hey, calm down! They just wanna play with you, that's all," Percy interjected. He had a bucket full of fish in his hands and there were lots of small penguins around him too. But instead of freaking out like Nico was doing, Percy seemed to be having a great time with the animals.

Jason was right by Percy's side and didn't seem to mind the small penguins rubbing themselves against his legs and pecking his clothes either.

"Nico, if you keep running they're going to think you're playing with them and won't stop following you. Calm the hell down, man."

"Maybe bringing you here was not a very good idea."

Nico could easily distinguish the laugh behind Percy's voice. He stopped abruptly where he was, although he still felt a strong urge to just get the hell out of that room and leave everything behind.

Their mission could be damned for all he cared. Nico didn't want to stay there, surrounded by those small beasties, not even a second longer. Still, he hid his real despair perfectly as soon as he realized Jason and Percy were now smiling. He wouldn't give those two more reason to laugh at him.

"Shoo, I don't have food for you, thingies," he hissed to the penguins surrounding him, waving his arms to shoo them away. "Get out of here!"

"Yeah, I think you two should go outside," Percy said. "Could you wait for me out there? Feeding these small guys won't take long."

And before Jason could even open his mouth to answer, Nico was already opening the door and getting out of the room.

When Jason joined him in the corridor, the blond had an amused smile curling on his lips. Nico didn't like that one bit.

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll tell Piper you cry every time you watch 'The Lion King'," he threatened. "And you know I'm not joking."

Nico was very pleased when the smiled disappeared from his best friend's face.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I think the penguins won't be a problem anymore," Percy said. "Let's talk."<p>

Jason let out a muffled laugh, but Nico scowled at them immediately.

They were in some kind of locker-room, at the back area of the aquarium. Rows of lockers were disposed by the walls and a few benches were placed next to them. A tight corridor led to another room, most probably to a shower.

"Dude, it was just a joke. Where's your sense of humor?" Percy asked.

The sharp glare Nico sent him was enough to make Percy drop the subject, though. It was obvious Nico was not in the mood for jokes.

"Alright, forget it," he said. "What do you wanna talk about?"

He sat down on a bench and Jason soon joined him. Nico stayed where he was and didn't express any intention in following his friend.

"So," Jason started, taking the opportunity to change the subject. He could see Nico was getting pissed. The sooner they changed the subject, the safer they would be. "We're here to talk about your powers. In fact, we're here to offer you a deal."

"How do you even know I have powers? I don't know neither of you."

"Oh come on, don't be foolish. You used your powers to extinguish a fire in the middle of New York and every paper in this damn city kept talking about you for a whole week," Nico scolded him. He was leaning against a locker, arms crossed in front of his chest and face contorted in a not very welcoming mask. "Did you really think your little heroic act would not bring any kind of consequence and everyone would ignore it? 'Cause if you did think it would be like that, you are either really stupid or really naïve."

"Nico, I don't think being rude is the best strategy here," Jason intervened, casting his friend a warning glare.

Nico held the blond's intense glare for a few seconds. The embarrassing situation he had been through, along with the guys' jokes had pissed him off.

Jason didn't look away, though, and Nico just shrugged. He mumbled something neither Jason, nor Percy could comprehend.

"As Nico said, we've heard about the fire and how you've extinguished it using your powers through the papers," Jason made sure to continue before Percy could say anything. The look in his face was not so friendly anymore and Jason realized he would have to be extra careful there, or Percy and Nico would end up fighting like two kids. "Have you ever heard about the Half-Blood Institute?"

Percy shook his head in denial.

"Of course not," Nico snorted, unimpressed.

"Nico."

"Okay, okay. I'm gonna be quiet."

"What is this Half-Blood Institute?" Percy asked impatiently. He still had tons of things to do and those two were making him waste his precious time. Not to mention that Nico guy seemed more interested in mocking him than anything else and Percy had no intention in being mocked.

"The Half-Blood Institute is the biggest institute specialized in human mutation in this country, maybe even the biggest in the world," Jason explained. "It has the best team of scientists and researchers, it offers a very good educational program for kids and teenagers mutants who can't adjust in the considered 'normal' society and it also offers great job opportunities to the oldest. To make it short, it's an institute that gives the mutant population the best opportunities nowadays."

Percy stared at them with narrowed eyes, as his glance travelled from Jason to Nico with suspicion.

That story sounded too perfect to be true in Percy's opinion.

"If this institute is so big, so important as you say, why haven't I heard about it?" he asked, arching his eyebrows. His suspicion was more than evident, but he didn't bother trying to hide it.

"Because most people want to ignore the existence of mutants," Nico said dryly. But at least this time his voice held no sarcasm or poison, he was talking seriously. "The institute protects mutants and gives them hope. And I don't know if you've noticed, but usually people don't like to give too much attention to things that can help or make it easier for mutants to have a decent life."

"But still," Percy insisted, totally unconvinced. He bit his lower lip instinctively as he gave some thought to what Jason had said. "If this Institute of Blood."

"Half-Blood Institute," Jason corrected.

"Yeah, that," Percy agreed waving his hand. "If this institute were as famous as you say, I would have heard about it sooner or later."

Jason opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated for a few seconds before actually saying something. "The works we do at the institute are kind of confidential. And if you consider that the government has a tendency of hiding almost everything involving the mutant population from the rest of the country, it's not very surprising you haven't heard about us. But if you do some research on the subject, you'll notice the institute is always mentioned in articles as the main source of knowledge about human mutation and its consequences and all this kind of stuff."

Jason seemed sure of what he was talking, but Percy still had his doubts. How could he trust that guy? They had met minutes ago. Everything was too confusing.

An institute specialized in human mutation that also offered jobs and education to mutants. That was too good to be true. Percy just couldn't bring himself to believe it even if he tried. If he had learned one thing during his life was not to trust when something too good –like that said institute- showed up out of nowhere, offering great opportunities and asking for basically nothing in return.

Percy rose from his seat, unable to remain quiet for too long. His mind was a mess of doubts, questions and suspicions.

"I kinda got it what you said about this institute," he said. His hands rested in his waist. "But what does this have to do with me? I still don't see where I fit here."

"Going straight to the point, we're here to offer you a place in the institute," Nico di Angelo said bluntly. He straightened his posture and faced Percy directly without hesitation. Nico was way shorter than Percy, but the green-eyed guy had to admit that boy could be really intimidating when he wanted. "We've seen the video where you extinguish the fire. It's obvious you can't fully control your powers. If you accept our offer, you'll receive the right training and we'll help you master your abilities. Just think that in the worst case, you're gonna spend some time with us and then return to your old life after your training is over, with the benefit of never flooding your bathroom again."

Silence hung between them, as Percy's brain tried to absorb every piece of information there. He opened his mouth to say something, but gave up and closed it again.

What the hell was happening there?

"I think it's too much do take at the same time," Jason said, noticing Percy's lack of reaction. He got up from the bench as well and was now by Nico's side. "But this training is a one-time opportunity. You won't find better place to master and learn about your powers anywhere."

"And depending on how well you do in your training, the institute may even offer you a job," Nico added.

"Just hold on a second, man." Percy said, ruffling his hair nervously. "You two come here out of nowhere, claiming to know about my mutation. You start babbling about this perfect place that helps mutants and that I've never heard about before. Then you say you're here to offer me training and want to help me, that I can learn to control my powers in this institute and I can even get a job there. Is this some kind of joke or do you really expect me to believe in this bullshit?"

Jason and Nico stared at each other briefly.

"Yeah, we do," they said together.

"You're fucking nuts!"

Nico growled in annoyance and shook his head. "We're wasting our time here, Jason."

"For the first time we agree about something, this is nothing but a waste of our time and I don't have to stay here hearing all this nonsense," Percy said. "If you two excuse me, I still have lots of animals to take care of."

Percy didn't wait for their answer. He just turned in his heels and walked away in a hurry. He heard Jason calling out his name, but Percy ignored it.

He was just too furious with that whole situation to stay there a single minute more. Percy felt as if those two guys were trying to lure him into a trap and he hated being taken as a fool. He needed to be alone for a while and clear his thoughts, or Percy would most certainly end up causing a disaster in the aquarium.

* * *

><p>Jason still tried to call Percy and bring him back when he saw the other walking away, but Nico grabbed his friend fiercely by the arm and stopped Jason before he could follow Percy any further.<p>

"It's useless, Jason. He doesn't believe us and he won't listen," Nico said sharply.

"And we're not gonna do anything?" Jason shot back indignant. He pulled his arm back and out of Nico's reach and the younger guy could feel the static flying in the air around them, as Jason got angered. "Are you gonna accept he doesn't wanna come with us and we're just gonna leave?"

"Calm the hell down, Pikachu. What do you expect us to do? Drag the guy all the way down to the institute by force? Against his will?" Nico scolded. "We did what they told us to do, but it's not our fault the guy is as stubborn as a mule. He's not our problem anymore."

Nico was right, they couldn't do anything. Jason knew it quite well, but he still couldn't help but feel frustrated. He was not used to failures and he didn't like when a mission went wrong.

"Chiron won't be happy when we tell him Percy said no," Jason sighed. "If I got it right, this guy's powers are strong and they can be dangerous."

"Did Chiron used that weird mutant tracker he has?"

Jason nodded.

"Whatever, if the guy doesn't wanna come, we can't do much. It's his choice," Nico said, ending the subject. He fixed his aviator jacket methodically and ruffled his tousled dark curls. "Now let's get out of here. I don't like this place."

"Damn it, I was hoping we could take a look at the arctic wing again," Jason teased. He was obviously making a huge effort to hide back the smile forming in his lips.

The death glare Nico sent him could have made anyone run away in fear.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed without any other unusual occurrence, but Percy couldn't get the conversation he had with Jason and Nico out of his head. And if normally Percy was already kind of careless, in that day, with his mind full of unanswered questions, he got ten times worse. It was shocking his boss didn't say anything about it.<p>

If his co-workers noticed his unusual behavior, they chose not to mention it and Percy was very thankful for that. His brain had too much in which to think of and he couldn't have explained what was happening to him if someone had asked.

When his shift was over, Percy felt a wave of relief taking over his body. He just wanted to be alone and think and a super crowded aquarium in the middle of New York was definitely not the best place for that.

"Percy! Percy wait!" A voice called him when Percy was almost reaching the exit and soon Haley –a thirty-something years old woman who worked as receptionist in the aquarium- was by his side.

"Did something happen?"

Haley shook her head in denial and handed a small card to Percy. "Two guys dropped by the info desk earlier and asked us to give you this," she said.

Her words were enough to catch the guy's attention and he took the card immediately.

There was nothing special about the card. It was just an ordinary piece of paper with a phone number written in it, along with the phrase 'In case you change your mind' in a hurried and careless handwriting.

"Do you know their names?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows. "Is it Jason and Nico?"

"Sorry, but I don't know. The new girl was the one who got the card and she didn't ask anything. Honestly, I really don't know what that girl has inside that blonde head, I need to have a serious talk with her."

Percy nodded, but he was not actually listening to what Haley was saying. His attention fully focused in the small card in his hands.

"Well, I just wanted to give you this," she said once she realized Percy was not listening. Haley didn't seem bothered, but Percy felt bad for ignoring her anyways. "See you tomorrow, Percy."

"See you tomorrow," he said and slipped the piece of paper carefully inside his jackets' pocket.

That day, when Percy reached the street and joined the crowds as he made his way home, nothing had been distracting enough to get his mind out of the conversation he had shared with Nico and Jason. Percy had barely noticed the beautiful sunset in the horizon and for the first time in ages he didn't take his time to observe people in the metro. His mind kept replaying the encounter he had had with the other two guys all the time and as annoying as it seemed, Percy had a feeling that subject would still bother him for a while.

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><p><strong>Happy Percico Weekend! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, because I had a lot of fun writing it.<strong>  
><strong>Thanks everyone who's reading, commenting, favoriting. You're all amazing!<strong>

_**Julie Anna T.**_


	4. Fate, bad luck or whatever

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does.**

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><p><strong>Chapter III: Fate, bad luck or whatever<strong>

The trip back to Half-Blood Institute had never seemed so long to Nico. Usually, he could have made that trip in a few seconds using his powers, but Chiron hadn't allowed him and Jason to take advantage of their powers in this particular quest. They shouldn't drag any kind of unwanted attention towards them, Chiron had said, so it would be best if they avoided using their powers; it wouldn't have been wise for them to simply appear, coming out of nowhere, in the middle of an aquarium crowded with noisy tourists.

And thanks to that advice -that was nothing other than an actual order, really- Nico was stuck in a car for two hours already listening to Jason's endless whining and complaints.

It was difficult to say which one of the guys was in worst mood. If it was Jason, for failing the quest that had been given to him -something he always struggled to accept when happened-, or if it was Nico, who had to listen to his friend's irritating sighs and childish attitude during the whole way back to the Institute. Nico's patience was turning out to be shorter than he expected and he didn't know if he could stand that situation much longer.

"I still think we should've insisted more with Percy," Jason grumbled for the fifth or sixth time since they'd gotten inside the car.

Nico growled impatiently and sank down even further in the passengers seat, as if trying to disappear into the stuffed material. "Why didn't you insist, then? All this whining won't change anything, it's just pissing me off and nothing more," he finally snapped casting his friend a sharp glare.

Jason pressed his lips in a thin line, suppressing an equally surly reply.

The rest of their trip was made in silence and Nico was mentally thankful for that moment of peace. He liked Jason a lot -even if he didn't show it most of the times-, but Nico would be lying if he said he had enough patience to endure the blonde's complaints for almost three hours straight.

Half an hour later, they reached the hill where the Institute was located and the front wall, as well as the tall black-iron gate, could be seen from the distance among the countless trees that bordered the road. The old stone classic mansion where the Institute worked was set high in the hill, with two side towers they used as observatories for classes, and had a well cared front garden.

"What do you think Chiron's gonna do when he finds out Percy refused to come with us?" Jason spoke again when the black gates opened automatically as soon as they got close enough.

"I bet he's already aware of everything," Nico said. "He probably monitored our entire quest with that weird machine he has. If not, he asked Annabeth to do so."

Jason's face contorted a little with the suggestion because he knew Nico was probably right; it'd be surprising if Chiron didn't know anything yet. He drove through the open gates and slowed down the car, driving it to one of the empty spots in the parking lot.

The day was ending. The sky slowly turned into an orange-pinkish shade and the residents of Half-Blood Institute gradually scattered around the garden, leaving their daily tasks and routine to enjoy a more than deserved break.

Noisy teenagers were out playing games and pranks with everybody, whilst the older ones walked together, chatted or simply spent sometime with their friends.

Nico freed himself from the seatbelt and got out of the car. He was greeted by the well-known sounds of people chattering and the comforting atmosphere of the place he considered his home.

"Let's end this," Jason said closing the car's door and walking around the vehicle to stand beside Nico. "I want to finish this whole Percy Jackson failure once and for all."

"Someone's not accepting their failure," Nico teased.

Jason said nothing, but Nico noticed his friend's clenched jaw and the white knuckles of his balled fists while both guys walked to the front door of the building.

* * *

><p>The alarm clock on his bedside table glowed bright green, breaking through the almost complete darkness in the room and informing Percy it was almost two in the morning. The silence was heavy, broken from time to time just by distant sounds coming from the streets outside, and the alarm clock was the only source of light in the room. And yet, Percy couldn't sleep.<p>

When he got back home that day he couldn't force the encounter he had with the two guys in the aquarium out of his mind. He'd spent a good amount of hours that night helping out his mother and stepfather in the supermarket buying everything they'd need for the dinner party his parents would throw the next day to Paul's bosses. Percy had spent long hours carrying bags with food and decorations, whilst Sally tried to decide which kind of napkin she wanted and they also wasted a lot of time stuck in the traffic.

All these tasks worked as great distractions for him, but now Percy had nothing else to do and his parents were already asleep in their bed. Now that he was lying on his own bed, in silence and with plenty of time to think, the matter came back with full force. And even though he felt extremely tired, he couldn't force himself to sleep.

When Nico and Jason told him about the Half-Blood Institute, Percy's first instinct was to suspect their intentions. The place they talked about sounded like the perfect place for him; it sounded like a place he could be safe and have a normal life and that thought bothered Percy.

Percy never got anything the easy way in his life. He had faced a lot of difficulties with his mother to earn a fairly normal life and to keep away from troubles. Okay, it hadn't worked very well sometimes. As much as they tried, Percy seemed to attract trouble just by breathing.

Maybe it was fate, or maybe Percy just suffered from the worst case of bad luck in history, but the fact was that Percy had learned good things didn't happen so easily to him, so when Nico and Jason showed up offering what seemed like the best opportunity he'd ever get in his life, Percy freaked out! He freaked out and refused to listen anything else those two could've said because he didn't want to grow false hopes.

But now that he had enough time to think about it, Percy realized he could be making a terrible mistake. What if Jason and Nico were telling the truth? As much as Percy still suspected them, he had to consider that possibility. Because if what they'd told was true, then Percy had just wasted his best chance to have a good life.

"Damn it," he scolded to himself, throwing aside the blankets covering his legs and coming to a sitting position.

His hands tangled in his black strands of hair, ruffling them anxiously. He just wanted to sleep, why couldn't he stop having those useless thoughts? That made no sense!

Feeling tired and with an overwhelming frustration growing inside him, Percy left his bed behind and walked to the living room, bringing along his blanket and pillow. If he couldn't sleep, then he wouldn't stay there looking at his bedroom ceiling. He'd rather spend the night watching bad movies in the TV than thinking about a place he didn't even know existed or not. And besides, if the movie was too bad, he could even fall asleep of boredom.

* * *

><p>The halls in the institute were silent that time in the morning. All its residents were still fast asleep in their beds. Except Nico.<p>

The eighteen years old boy walked down carelessly the empty hallway of the mansion, making his way to the gym. His bag hanging from his left shoulder and the headphones playing After Forever in the loudest volume his phone allowed, muffling out any unwanted thought.

When he had gone to Chiron's office the previous day with Jason, the Professor was already aware that Percy had declined their offer to join the institute, just as Nico had thought it'd happen. That didn't make any difference to Jason, who was still quite pissed off with his 'failure' -as he thought about it-, but the way Chiron handled the issue could be considered at least odd. He didn't seem bothered, nor worried, but if Percy was in fact as powerful as the Professor had claimed he was, then why wasn't he concerned? The behavior made Nico suspicious, but he didn't say anything. Jason was in a terrible mood, so when Chiron said they were dismissed, Nico didn't waste a single minute and got out of the office quickly.

Nico turned a corner in the hallway, until he reached the large double glass door that lead to the gym. To his surprise, Nico realized the place was not empty, as he thought it would and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile as soon as he recognized who was the person training in there.

Reyna.

He hid the smile, though, and pulled a blank expression back to his face before the woman could see him.

"Don't you have classes to teach in less than an hour?" He asked loud enough to catch her attention and the woman stopped hitting the punch bag.

She turned in her heels. Black intimidating eyes stared at Nico with seriousness through thick eyelashes; a thin layer of sweat covered the woman's tanned skin and glowed under the fluorescent lights.

"Di Angelo," she said in a firm voice.

"Ramirez-Arellano," Nico said back, returning her intense gaze.

They locked eyes for a few seconds, before both their faces softened and childish grins took over their features. Reyna left her equipment behind, her exercises routine long forgotten, and jogged towards Nico within seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back?" She asked, crushing him in a bear hug and ignoring Nico's struggle to get away.

"I looked for you, but Annabeth said you were at the city," he answered, untangling himself from Reyna's embrace.

He walked with her to the nearest bench, where Reyna's equipment lied forgotten. Nico threw his own bag carelessly next to Reyna's, whilst she grabbed her water bottle.

"So, how did the quest go? I hope Jason wasn't such a pain."

Nico snorted. "Going straight to the point, we failed and Jason made it even worse with his whining. When's your lunch break? 'Cause I'm gonna need time to tell you everything."

Reyna nodded. She dried her sweaty forehead with a towel, before pulling his material aside once again. "You can tell me after third period. Now come on, get up and let's spar. I still have forty-five minutes before my first class."

"I pity your students, you know? Poor bastards," Nico teased smirking and he received a forceful slap on the back of his head in response.

"Shut up, di Angelo. Don't forget you're one of the poor bastards."

* * *

><p>When Sally woke up that morning and made her way to the kitchen to start breakfast, once more she found Percy cocooned with his blankets on the couch and fast asleep. The TV was on and playing some horrible morning program Percy would never watch if he was awake and the floor next to the couch was covered with empty cans of soda and packages of Cheetos. She knew right away that something was wrong with her son.<p>

It was the third morning in a row that she had found Percy sleeping in the living room and that realization set Sally alert.

With her hands resting in her hips, she sighed worried, then walked careful not to make much noise to where Percy slept. Sally turned the TV off first, leaving the remote control on the coffee table and just then she turned her attention to her sleeping son.

Percy was deep in sleep, but Sally could see signs of exhaustion on his face. There were dark circles under his eyes and Sally wondered what could be giving Percy so much trouble to keep him awake at night. Her son was not the kind of person who had insomnia, so if something was keeping him awake, then it should be something quite serious.

"Percy, wake up," Sally called, shaking his shoulder lightly.

Percy murmured something she couldn't understand, but his eyes remained tightly shut. Typical.

"Percy!" she called once again, this time loud enough to show an impatience she didn't really feel.

And just like she thought, Percy almost jumped out of the couch, fighting out the tangled blankets around his legs until he could get into a sitting position. His eyes were a little unfocused, as he tried to understand what was going on around him. He just realized what was happening when he saw his mother standing next to him.

"Am I late again?" he asked, the distress clear in his voice. He rubbed his eyes to shoo away the sleep that clouded his brain.

Sally arched his eyebrows, a smile slowly tugging on his lips. "Just if you have anywhere important to go in a Sunday morning."

With relief visible in his face, Percy rested against the couch and stretched his entire body like a cat. A long yawn escaped his lips.

"Oh man, that's great. I think I'm gonna sleep on my room then," he said lazily.

Sally held her son's arm before he could've made a single movement. "Wait, dear. I wanna talk to you."

Her voice was calm, but the seriousness in her words and that was also shown on her face made Percy's body go stiff. The silence inside the room, suddenly, was too much for him, almost oppressive.

"What's happening to you, Percy?" she asked, wasting no time. "It's the third time I wake up just to find you sleeping on the couch. What's going on that you're not telling me?"

Percy let out a nervous laugh. "There's nothing going on, I'm not hiding anything. Why would I hide anything?"

His words came out too quickly and too anxious for Sally to give any kind of credit. She wondered if Percy really believed he could fool her that easily, because until then he was doing an awful job trying to mask his troubled mind.

"I think I know my own son well enough to notice when he has something in his mind. Maybe I can help and you know you can trust me."

"I know, Mom," he nodded.

Percy pondered for a few moments if he should be honest to his mother, or if he should try to come up with some excuse for his odd behavior. In the end he decided to be honest because, really, he doubted his mother would believe in any of his excuses -if he managed thinking on anything, of course.

He tried to talk about it briefly, but it still took him a good amount of time to finally spill everything he had been keeping to himself those past days. And just like she had always done her entire life, Sally listened patiently until her son was finished and let him express all he had been feeling.

"What I don't understand is why those two would show up out of nowhere just to make me that offer!" he said in a final outburst. His face was bright red; the anger he had felt at the time in the aquarium was back in its full force and Percy was having a hard time trying to control his trembling hands. "This kind of thing doesn't happen to me, Mom. No one never tried to help me before and I don't believe this is gonna change now. I'd have to be too naive to believe in such a thing."

Percy was breathing heavily and seeing the state her son was, Sally realized how much that matter had bothered him all these days. She took Percy's hands in hers, trying to pass some comfort and preventing them to shake any further.

"It's okay, Percy. I see your point, there's no need to be angry about it anymore," the woman reassured, squeezing his hands lightly. That simple gesture was enough to calm him down greatly and Percy shut his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to take control over the turmoil of feelings inside of him. "Can I make an observation?"

Percy nodded, opening his eyes to face his mother again.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want. If you don't want to contact these boys, then don't," Sally said. "But I believe you should at least investigate and find out if what they said is true or not. Overthinking the matter without doing anything is useless."

"Mom, no one never offered me any kind of help before," he insisted. "You know that."

He was right. No one had ever offered them help when Percy started to develop his powers, but that truth was painful to Sally. She had always worked as hell to protect her only son against the world's cruelty and from the people that inhabited it, but judging by Percy's hesitation it was more than obvious that she had failed that mission.

A small sad smiled appeared in her face. "I know, dear. But still, you should keep an open mind to all these possibilities. I'm not saying you should believe in everything those boys told you right away, but you should at least consider the idea that maybe they have told you the truth."

Percy half groaned, half snorted, making it clear he didn't share the same ideology as his mother. Sally just shook her head and brought her son closer, kissing his cheek delicately.

"Just think of what I said, okay?" she told him, before getting up and make her way to the kitchen to start breakfast, leaving Percy alone with his own thoughts.

* * *

><p>Nico felt his eyes heavy and he was struggling to keep them open during class. Of all the classes available in the institute 'Cooperation With Non-Mutant Humans' was one of the worsts and the one Nico hated the most. Unfortunately, it was mandatory.<p>

He felt a great relief when the class ended and the teacher dismissed them. Nico gathered all his books and shoved them inside his backpack in a hurry. He didn't want to spend a single minute in that classroom. When he finally reached the hallway, he found Jason and Piper standing next the classroom door and the blonde waved at his direction as soon as he saw Nico.

"Chiron wants to talk to us," he said once Nico was close enough to hear it. "He asked us to got to his office."

"I'm having an awesome day, Grace, thanks for asking," the younger teen retorted ironically.

Piper giggle. "Don't give me that look, Jason. You deserved this one," she said when she noticed her boyfriends sour expression. "How are you, Nico?"

"I am having a good day actually, Piper, but thanks for proving you are a person with good manners, unlike your boyfriend."

Jason rolled his eyes, not liking his friend and girlfriend's attitude in the slightest. "I'm still right here, okay? Could you stop pretending I'm not here?"

But Jason's complaint just made Nico and Piper laugh.

"Don't be a drama queen Jason, because it doesn't suit you," Nico said, but he took pity on his friend and adopted a more serious tone. "What's it Chiron want with us?"

"I have no idea, we're waiting for you to go there find out."

Nico nodded and, soon, the three of then opened their way through the corridor, right to the Headmaster's office.

* * *

><p>Percy had just left the apartment when the doorbell rang and Sally chuckled to herself. She wondered what Percy could have forgotten this time, whilst she left the towel beside the kitchen sink and made her way to the door. Sally was used to Percy forgetting things at home almost everyday before going to work, so she wasn't surprised when the doorbell echoed inside the apartment.<p>

But she did get surprised, though, when she opened the door and saw it wasn't Percy who was standing there. In front of her was a man with long dark hair on a wheelchair, along with two younger boys; a blond tall one and a skinny pale one, who looked like was going to pass out at an moment.

The man on the wheelchair smiled amiably at Sally.

"Good morning, you must be Percy's mother," the man said softly. "I'm Chiron and these are Jason and Nico. Could you give us a few minutes of your time? We need to talk about something important."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks everyone for the lovelies reviews and support and I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I promise the next time won't take this long.<strong>  
><strong>Oh! And Merry Christmas! :)<strong>


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